Teddy

The Chicago Tribune followed the Cranky Flier's lead yesterday by publishing a mocking obituary to TED, United's failed "low-cost" experiment. In sum, Ted never made any sense. They ripped the first class out of a handful of A-320s and created all E+ and E aircraft. At launch there was a bunch of Tedspeak in a half-hearted attempt to match Southwest's quirkiness. I'd bet a large sum of money that by the time they killed Ted, less than 10% of the tickets booked on Ted flights were actually booked at Ted.com (or whatever it was.) United customers just ended up on Ted. As the Tribune article accurately points out, at best, it probably just upset United's frequent flyers that happened to be flying to Florida or Arizona.

As it is, the Tribune article oversimplifies things just a bit. The Tribune chides United for not actually "copying" Southwest. While, of course, United still had to operate with its operating costs, so it was difficult for it to copycat one of Southwest's greatest advantage. As for the service aspect -- as in delivering what you promise -- the criticism is accurate and one that is more poignant as legacy carriers raise costs and reduce service.